Thursday, August 27, 2015

Today in History for Aug. 27, 2015

Hannibal Hamlin

Aug. 27, 1776 - British forces under General William Howe and his brother,
Admiral Richard viscount Howe, defeated Patriot forces under General George
Washington at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights in New York.

Aug. 27, 1809 - Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President of
the United States, who served under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil
War, was born in Paris, Maine.

Aug. 27, 1856 – R. Hunley Agee was born at Perdue Hill, Ala.
He later became the president of the R.H.&W.C. Agee Grocery Co. and one of
Selma’s leading businessmen. He served as a member of Selma’s city council and
as city tax assessor for two years.

Aug. 27, 1858 - The first cabled
news dispatch was sent and was published by "The New York Sun"
newspaper. The story was about the peace demands of England and France being
met by China.

Aug. 27, 1859 – Petroleum was
discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first
commercially successful oil well. It's been called "the most important oil
well ever drilled" because it marked the beginning of the modern petroleum
age. Petroleum had been discovered elsewhere, of course, but this was the first
well successfully drilled in search of the stuff.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at the Antietam
Iron Works in Maryland.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Ball’s
Crossroad, Va.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, King Kamehameha IV announced that his
nation, Hawaii, would observe neutrality in the hostilities. This simplified
matters for Pacific naval operations of both sides, but had little diplomatic
effect.

Aug. 27, 1861 - Union ships sailed into Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina, beginning a two-day operation to secure the area for the Federals and
denying the Confederates an important outlet to the Atlantic. The capture of
Cape Hatteras was an important victory for the Union, especially after the
disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, one month earlier. It also
gave the Union a toehold on the North Carolina coast, and it sealed an
important outlet to the Atlantic.

Aug. 27, 1938 – Phyllis Newcombe, 22, died after
spontaneously combusting in front of numerous witnesses around midnight during
a dance at the Chelmsford Shire Hall in England.

Aug. 27, 1942 – The Evergreen Courant reported that
construction of the Halso Mill Bridge over Pigeon Creek on Oaky Streak Road in
Butler County, 10 miles southwest of Greenville, had been completed. At 920
feet, the bridge was the longest bridge in the Butler County. It was 20-1/2
feet wide and rested on 300 pilings and was constructed of creosoted timbers.

Aug. 27, 1943 - A movie version of Alabama author Lillian
Hellman's play “Watch on the Rhine”
was released.

Aug. 27, 1949 – Jeff Cook, who is best known as one of the
founding members of the country music group Alabama, was born in Fort Payne,
Ala.

Aug. 27, 1953 – Inverness, Ala. native Billy Hitchcock
appeared in his final Major League Baseball game, taking the field one last
time for the Detroit Tigers.

Aug. 27, 1955– The first edition of the “Guinness Book of World
Records” was printed.

Aug. 27, 1964 – Baldwin County High School principal C.V.
Daniels announced that Vance McCrory of Frisco City had been named assistant
coach and science teacher at Baldwin County High School in Bay Minette, Ala.

Aug. 27, 1969 – Alabama native Oscar Gamble made his Major
League Baseball debut for the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 27, 1976 – In Charles Branum’s debut as Evergreen High
School’s head football coach, Evergreen lost to W.S. Neal, 19-0, in East
Brewton. Tony Rogers led the offense and the defense with nine solos and five
assists.

Aug. 27, 1981 – Mike Qualls’ long-running “From the
Sidelines” sports column made its first appearance in The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 27, 1985 – “Claiborne-Murphy Bridge” at Claiborne,
which opened to traffic in October 1930, was demolished, replaced by more
modern bridge.

Aug. 27, 1986 – Excel’s Scott Bell played offensive tackle
for the University of Alabama in the Tide’s 16-10 win over Ohio State in the
“Kickoff Classic” in New York City. Between his careers at Excel and Alabama,
he played OT at Miss. Delta Jr. College, where he was named to the Miss. Jr.
College Conf. All-State Football Team in 1985.

Aug. 27, 1986 - Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros earned his
250th career win against the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 27, 1990 – Conecuh County public schools were scheduled
to open for the first day of classes for students. Steve Coker was Conecuh
County’s Superintendent of Education.

Aug. 27, 1990 - The U.S. State Department ordered the
expulsion of 36 Iraqi diplomats. Fifty-two Americans also reached Turkey after
leaving Iraq, and three young American men were detained by the Iraqis.

Aug. 27, 2014 – Former Conecuh County Superintendent of
Education, principal, teacher and coach Walter B. Hudson Jr. of Evergreen
passed away at the age of 85 at West Florida Regional Medical Center in
Pensacola, Fla. A native of Louisville, Ala., he served in Japan with the U.S.
Air Force. He was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen.